A
Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, a
worldwide effort in more than 135 countries, led by the U.S. Galileoscope
team.

Why is the
Galileoscope supplied as a kit?

Students experiment with lenses while building the
telescope. This is a much more powerful learning experience than receiving a
preassembled telescope. They learn many aspects of optics and even have a
chance to construct two types of telescopes — a more modern type and one
very similar to what Galileo used.

What can you see with
the Galileoscope?

The best views are of the key objects that Galileo observed
and that influenced his views on astronomy. The Galileoscope is optimized to
provide high-quality views of...

Mountains
and craters on the Moon, which revealed to Galileo that the Moon is a
craggy world like Earth, not a smooth heavenly sphere.

Four
moons circling Jupiter, which revealed to Galileo that there can be more
than one center of motion in the universe, and that a planet can move
through space without losing its satellites.

More
stars in the Pleiades and Beehive star clusters than can be seen with the
unaided eye, which revealed to Galileo that nature is filled with wonders
never before imagined — literally more than meets the eye.

Saturn's
rings, which perplexed Galileo because his telescope wasn't good enough to
show them clearly. (In its 50-power configuration, the Galileoscope will reveal Saturn's rings in all
their splendor.)

Venus
going through a complete set of phases, like the Moon, which showed
Galileo that Venus orbits the Sun, not the Earth.

So, can I use a star
diagonal with the Galileoscope?

Probably not. The Galileoscope is designed for
straight-through viewing. There's not enough "in focus" to permit the use of
most star diagonals (we haven't tested them all, but we haven't found one yet
that works). We recommend sitting in a chair with the Galileoscope on a tripod
that can be extended to a height of at least 150 cm (60 inches). That way, observing
celestial objects high in the sky will be comfortable even without a star
diagonal.

Do you have better
assembly instructions than the ones that come in the box?

Yes, we have a more comprehensive set of instructions,
including more photos and illustrations — all in color — available
for download as a PDF file. See our Downloads page.

NOAO is the national center for ground-based nighttime astronomy in the United States and is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.